Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge problems after recent software update

[funlovinkid]

I bought a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge from Tukcom Pattaya roughly 3 years ago, and until recently it has been functioning spectacularly.  Unfortunately, it's been having serious problems since I recently upgraded the software (it's running Android 8.0.0).  Now, the battery drains very rapidly, and the phone crashes and requires rebooting, typically several times a day.

 

I initially performed the software upgrade (about 6 weeks ago) via Wi-Fi, and thereafter, it would crash and wouldn't even do a hard restart (holding the power button, home button, and volume down button simultaneously).  So I went to the Samsung service center, and they said they would reinstall the same version of Android, but directly from a computer, rather than via a Wi-Fi connection, which they said was the original source of the problem.  The only other option was to have them upgrade to an even newer version of Android, but they said this would delete all the data on my phone, so I opted for a reinstall of the existing 8.0.0 version.  After this, the phone was always rebootable, but the battery still drains rapidly, and the phone crashes several times a day.  This upgrade at the Samsung Service Center occurred about a month ago.

 

Now, I'm receiving another notification on my phone saying that a newer upgrade is available.  So I called the Samsung Service Center, and they tell me that even this version might be problematic if I download and install it via Wi-Fi, and it would be best if I came to the service center instead to have them upgrade it for me - but this will still delete all the data on my phone.  The caution I received from them is that sometimes the upgrade via Wi-Fi works fine, but sometimes not, and the surest course of action would be to have them perform the upgrade.  Unfortunately, I'm a bit hesitant to lose all the data on my phone, as I'm pretty sure some of the app data has to be backed up individually, which requires going through each specific app and determining how to perform the backup.  What a pain in the butt.

 

In my conversation with them, they tell me that the problem is specific to Samsung phones in Thailand.  After three years of spectacular performance from my phone, I'm beginning to get pretty pissed off at Samsung for their suddenly terrible product.  There have got to be zillions of Galaxy S7 Edge phones by now in this country.  Has anyone else had a similar experience?

 

Many thanks in advance for any feedback.

 

 

[uhuh]

S7 edge, android 8.0.0, last update not so long ago (maybe same as yours?), no problems

[funlovinkid]

13 hours ago, uhuh said:

S7 edge, android 8.0.0, last update not so long ago (maybe same as yours?), no problems

Thank you for that, I really appreciate it.  As an update here, I went back to the Samsung repair shop a few days ago, and they installed the latest version of Android 8.0.0 (Kernel version March 13) - but the phone still regularly crashes, and the battery still drains very quickly.  As a result, now they're telling me that the phone requires a new battery and mother board (to the tune of around 7300 Baht), so it's possible that my version of mother board is incompatible with Android 8.0.0.  The first time I went in to the Samsung repair shop, the first question they asked me was, "where did you buy it?", which I found interesting, because this suggests that multiple versions of hardware for this same phone model number were sold throughout Thailand, and that maybe only some of this hardware is having a problem with Android 8.0.  I have since discovered that the phone now will never crash, as long as it's connected to an external power source, which does suggest some sort of hardware problem.  My model number is SM-G935FD, which is listed as intended for SE Asia and India.

 

May I ask where you bought yours, and do you have the same model number?

[Pib]

I think it's a bunch of rubbish what the Samsung center is telling your about upgrading via Wifi (or 4G/3G) can be problematic.   Sure, a wireless connection could caused problems if taking a long time to download....or maybe a very slight chance of getting a corrupted download.   But heck, a corrupted file could even occur over a hard wired connection. 

 

If I was you I would do the upgrade via wireless connection...do it the normal way so you don't lose anything.  Upgrade to the latest over the Wifi connection....maybe the upgrade is to fix the issue you are having.

 

The wife and I use Samsung phones/tablets....have for the longest time....never experienced a problem like you are having.  Sure, sometimes upgrades can make slight changes which also require adjustment of some settings for optimum performance/battery life.

 

And since you are concerned about losing data, which could occur at anytime due to hardware failure or software corruption, best to get into backing up your data.

 

 

 

 

[marcusarelus]

S7 Edge update automatically on WiFi no problem.  8.0.0.0

[funlovinkid]

Thanks for all the feedback.  After considering the replies above, and the fact that the phone wasn't crashing while it was connected to a power source, I concluded that it just needed a new battery (at the time of the problem, the battery was still the original one).  Samsung said they wouldn't guarantee the phone after the battery replacement unless the motherboard was also replaced, but I told them to go ahead anyway.  I was OK to spend the 1900 Baht on a new battery, but wasn't interested in the 7300 Baht cost for both the battery and the motherboard together.  Long story short, it looks like it was in fact a battery problem, which unfortunately coincided with the February software update, leading me to conclude that the update was the source of the problem.  The phone was completely charged to 100% overnight last night, and as of this afternoon, no problems.

 

Not sure what the purpose was of all the chatter from them about the Wi-Fi speed during update downloads, as I did hear the same story both from the repair center in Pattaya, and a tech rep at Samsung Customer Support in Bangkok.  It's my impression that that problem, whatever it is, hasn't affected me.

[Pib]

And they also tried to get you to change the motherboard in order to change the battery???!!!   Sounds like Samsung Service Centers tries to get a person to change more than needed in order to get some guarantee from Samsung.  Or, maybe that's how Samsung gets away without providing much of any guarantee for repair work unless you also change other components that they recommend....and which will make them more money.

 

By the way, both my wife's Samsung A8+ phones updated over Wifi from Android Oreo 8 to Pie 9 this week....both updates went without hitch (as usual for updates via Wifi).

[uhuh]

On 4/13/2019 at 2:16 PM, funlovinkid said:

Thank you for that, I really appreciate it.  As an update here, I went back to the Samsung repair shop a few days ago, and they installed the latest version of Android 8.0.0 (Kernel version March 13) - but the phone still regularly crashes, and the battery still drains very quickly.  As a result, now they're telling me that the phone requires a new battery and mother board (to the tune of around 7300 Baht), so it's possible that my version of mother board is incompatible with Android 8.0.0.  The first time I went in to the Samsung repair shop, the first question they asked me was, "where did you buy it?", which I found interesting, because this suggests that multiple versions of hardware for this same phone model number were sold throughout Thailand, and that maybe only some of this hardware is having a problem with Android 8.0.  I have since discovered that the phone now will never crash, as long as it's connected to an external power source, which does suggest some sort of hardware problem.  My model number is SM-G935FD, which is listed as intended for SE Asia and India.

 

May I ask where you bought yours, and do you have the same model number?

G935F, bought in the EU.

Friend of mine has a S7, bought in Bangkok,  and after 1 or 2 years he complained bitterly about battery drainage. He changed the battery and everything is fine now. 

[funlovinkid]

Thanks again for the feedback.

 

Just as an update here, I've had the new battery in the phone for over a month now, and the phone is back to its old self.  No problems whatsoever, and the new battery holds up all day, regardless of how much I use the phone, or for what purpose.

 

Bottom line: although my phone is happily behaving normally now, in the 3 times I visited the Samsung Service Center, I'm extremely disappointed that they never bothered to check the battery performance, or even to ask me if the battery had ever been replaced.  This was something I had to ascertain myself.  In that regard, they proved more of a hindrance than a help.  I began to smell something fishy when the pretty female rep went to great lengths in a conversation with me about "sensible" alternatives to the "expensive" 7300 Baht battery + motherboard proposal that she was peddling (in other words, buy a new phone).  Whatever they were talking about with regard to the Wi-Fi download problem was probably unrelated.

[Racaoy]

On 4/19/2019 at 12:15 AM, uhuh said:

G935F, bought in the EU.

Friend of mine has a S7, bought in Bangkok, 

Do you know the price of it?

[uhuh]

Bought 1-2 years ago,  so the price will have changed

[stereolab]

On ‎4‎/‎15‎/‎2019 at 4:01 PM, marcusarelus said:

S7 Edge update automatically on WiFi no problem.  8.0.0.0

My S7 edge updated also to 8.0.0. with wifi connection , no problems before or after. Samsung service centre is "at it" with their 7300 baht suggestion. How much is an new S7 edge today?